1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a coupling and/or support mechanism for supporting at least a medical bag and, more particularly, to a medical support assembly for supporting at least an intravenous (IV) and/or IV bag on a patient pallet of a medical examination apparatus or diagnostic imaging device.
2. Description of Related Art
During the course of certain medical treatments and procedures, a patient may require intravenous fluids provided by an intravenous system having a bag or reservoir containing an intravenous fluid. The bag is typically supported on at least one support assembly, such as, for example, an IV pole. In general an IV pole includes a support stand having an elongated member attached thereto, and a plurality of hooks or loops arranged about the elongated member for supporting the bag of the intravenous system. It is beneficial that the IV pole be positioned adjacent to the patient and fully controlled at all times to ensure patient safety and comfort.
The bag is typically supported by one or a plurality of hooks arranged on the elongated member of the IV pole. The IV pole may be a separate, stand-alone unit, or the IV pole may be fixedly secured or attached to a patient pallet. In many applications, the IV pole permits the patient to be moved or transported when required without interrupting or disturbing delivery of the intravenous fluid. Thus, the IV pole is a commonly used device at hospitals and medical facilities. Examples of IV poles are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,658 to Shiery et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,036 to Sheehan; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,418 to McBarnes, Jr. et al., the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Various arrangements for coupling an IV pole to a patient pallet are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,036 to Sheehan, for example, discloses an IV pole having a bracket and a U-shaped clamp member attached to the bracket, the bracket being attached to a patient pallet or bed such that the IV pole and the pallet act as an integral unit. However, the arrangements in the prior art are not suitable for use in a movable pallet such as the one commonly used in a medical diagnostic imaging device. That is, when diagnostic imaging is to be performed on patients requiring IV access, the use of IV poles presents a challenge since, typically, a medical diagnostic imaging device includes a movable pallet for moving the patient in and out of a gantry. Thus, a problem arises in easily moving patients in and out of the gantry when the patient is attached to an IV bag supported by the IV pole. It is desirable and often necessary that the IV pole be moved simultaneously with the patient without any relative movement between the patient and the IV pole.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a prior art medical diagnostic imaging device includes a pallet 10 including an IV pole assembly 12 having an IV pole 14 attached to pallet 10. As shown in FIG. 1, a patient “P” is positioned on pallet 10 for moving the patient “P” into a gantry 16 and adjacent at least one diagnostic imaging device 18 by an operator or technician “T”. IV pole 14 supports a container or fluid bag 20 and tubing 22. IV pole 14 is attached to pallet 10 for movement in unison with pallet 10. IV pole 14 further includes hook members 24 for supporting fluid bag 20. IV pole 14 is attached to pallet 10 via a bracket member 26, wherein bracket member 26 engages a support rail 28 of pallet 10. In use, pallet 10 is moved along a horizontal plane towards gantry 16. As patient “P” is transported towards gantry 16, IV pole 14 moves in unison with pallet 10. However, a top portion of IV pole 14 may collide with overhead objects such as, for example, a Patient Positioning Management (PPM) device 30. Any contact of IV pole 14 with device 30, as pallet 10 is moved, may cause tubing 22 to become entangled, may cause disconnection of needles from the patient “P”, may cause kinking of tubing 22, etc., thus disrupting delivery of IV fluid and causing patient discomfort, contamination, etc.
A possible solution has been to require extra personnel to guide the IV pole along with the pallet to ensure that the IV system remains intact and the patient remains safe and comfortable during the diagnostic imaging. However, this requires additional personnel and additional coordination between 2 or more personnel, including the technician “T”.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an IV support mechanism for a movable pallet of a medical diagnostic imaging device which overcomes the problems and limitations of the prior art.